Where Loyalty Lies
by UrbanMermaid
Summary: ANBU Sakura comes across a file containing the truth about Itachi and the Uchiha clan. She has questions he needs to answer and she won't give up. Sakura x Itachi


_**Mission: **__elimination of the Uchiha clan_

_**Type:**__ assassination_

_**Rank: **__S_

_**Assigned to: **__Uchiha Itachi_

She stopped on a branch for a small break to catch her breath and looked around, searching for any unknown chakra signature. She'd been keeping a steady pace for a while, hoping she would find the one she was looking for without having to look too much, but she'd overestimated her luck by far and now she was wandering aimlessly through the woods. She was looking for the needle in a bottle of hay, and for what?

She'd been told they were supposed to pass through those woods in search for the Yonbi. Night was falling fast and there was still no sign of the ones she was looking for, much to her dismay. She quenched her thirst from a nearby stream and leaped back into the trees, where she felt closer to her home hidden in leaves. Of course she would be scolded when she got home for leaving without a trace, but she was free to do as she pleased in her spare time – only not in her ANBU persona, which was exactly what she was doing. Hiding behind a mask, like she always wanted to when she was little.

Suddenly it struck her – an enormous quantity of chakra somewhere nearby, moving at a normal pace. She headed that way, descending gradually until finally, she leaped down from the trees and landed in front of the two dark figures who stopped at her appearing out of nowhere. She'd hit the jackpot. The taller ninja placed a hand on the giant sword on his back, ready to attack should she make a wrong move.

"Wait." She said. "I'm not here to fight."

The woman removed her cat ANBU mask, revealing a Konoha headband.

"I'm only here to talk, Uchiha Itachi-san." Sakura continued.

"Oi, Itachi. Isn't this the brat who killed Sasori? Deidara said she had pink hair." Kisame muttered, taking off his hat. "What does she want anyway? Should I take her down?"

Itachi looked over his collar at the woman gazing at him with such determinacy, without giving a damn on the shark-nin's affirmations. He could see that her business was with him alone and yet he could see no logical reason behind all this.

"Talk about what?" he inquired coldly, narrowing his eyes.

"I know." Was her only reply.

Kisame quirked a brow at her, then looked at his partner, who gave no signs of understanding what she meant by that. Curiously though, he gave him a curt order.

"Kisame, set the camp."

Which more likely meant "scram", but he walked away nonetheless, leaving the two alone in the silence of the forest. As soon as he was out of sight, Sakura stepped toward the Uchiha, who merely regarded her cautiously without moving an inch.

"My name is Sakura Haruno, a medical ANBU. I am the student of the Hokage Tsunade-sama."

Itachi cocked his head to the side, not seeing why that might interest him, but she continued calmly, going closer.

"A few days ago I came across an old file in the archives regarding the elimination of the Uchiha clan."

He remained impassive, despite wondering why that file hadn't been destroyed by the rightful incompetents at the right time. If it hadn't fallen in the hands of this woman he wouldn't be wasting his time now with such foolish discussions.

"This mission was assigned to you, when you were an ANBU." She said, finally stopping, two feet away from him. "Why did you accept it?"

"Do **you** question **me**, ninja?" he asked darkly, making a step forward and forcing her to back away equally. "You should have better knowledge of where your loyalty lies."

"Why did you lie to Sasuke?" she continued, her voice quavering just a little before coming back to normal. Itachi noticed and something flickered in his eyes. She knew Sasuke. They must have been the same age, so this woman could have been teamed up with his foolish little brother in the past. No wonder she was acting so foolishly. "Why did you let him hate you when the true object of his hatred was right there, in Konoha all the time? If you'd told him the truth from the beginning he wouldn't have left after Orochimaru!"

He glared at her and intended to leave, but she barred his way and glared back.

"Get out of my way." Itachi hissed.

"Tell me." She demanded. "All of this doesn't make sense unless you didn't want Sasuke to hate Konoha… because you're still loyal to our village!"

One moment she was saying those words to him and the next she was pinned to a tree, with a kunai against her neck and Itachi's blazing eyes piercing into her own. He was so fast she hadn't even had time to react and now her hands were pinned above her head against the rough bark in a tight grip that stopped her blood flow.

"Listen carefully to me, Haruno Sakura." He breathed against her ear. "You whisper a single word of this and I will hunt you down."

"I won't tell!" she gasped. "I just need to know!"

"Why?" Itachi hissed.

"Ever since I saw that file I couldn't get it out of my head. I can't be loyal to a village whose leaders would ask an ANBU to complete such a mission and then-"

"You're just like him."

The grip on her hands loosened and Itachi pulled back, leaving a small slash on her pale neck. Sakura looked at him in confusion, taking her hand to the bleeding wound.

"Weak. Pathetic." He spat. "Is this what Konoha has become?"

"You're right. I don't understand your reasons, Itachi, and yes, I may be a lame excuse for a ninja… but Konoha is still the same strong village. Don't judge it by just looking at me!"

But he was already walking away, leaving her to lean against the rough bark and bite her lip in frustration. Another question came to her mind, yet by the time she turned around to ask him, Itachi was already gone. She knew better though – this wasn't over.


End file.
